No. 280 November 1, 1944
INDIANA
CROPS AND LIVESTOCK
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
COOPERATING WITH  
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL STATlSTICS
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
INDIANA
After the first week in October, rainfall has been very light and temperlftures have been
about normal, making weather conditions favorable for corn and soybean harvesting,
wheat seeding, and general farm work. Pastures have furnished considerable feed since
there has been very little frost.
The expected corn yield increased from 37 bushels per acre to 38 bushels during October,
Production is now estimated at 176,244,000 bushels which is 84 percent of the 1943 crop
and 107 percent of the 1933-42 annual average.
Yields and production of wheat, oats, barley, rye, and soybeans are the same as reported
on October 1. Production of oats, barley, rye, and soybeans is indicated at 98, 96, 92, and 91
percent of last year's production, respectively. Winter wheat production is estimated at
175 percent of last year's crop.
The yield of all tame hay is reported at 1.25 tons per acre, the same as reported last
month. The yield of the 1943 hay crop was 1.35 tons per acre. Pasture condition is reported
at the same as a month ago.
Potato yield and production prospects are higher than a month ago. Production is now
estimated at 85 percent of the 1943 crop. Sweet potato production is estimated at 125
percent of last year's crop, which is 25 percent greater than the estimate a month ago.
No change since October 1 was reported in the yield and production of tobacco. Production is estimated at 133 percent of the 1943 crop and 156 percent of the 1933-42 annual
average.
Apple and pear production prospects seem slightly better than a month ago while the
expected production of grapes decreased. No change during the month in the peach crop
was reported.
Reports indicate that 800,000 cows were milked during October, producing 370 pounds
per cow or a total 296 million pounds. The estimate of laying hens for October is 12,520,000.
Production is estimated at 899 eggs per 100 layers or a total of 113 million eggs produced
in October.
UNITED STATES
October weather, that was unusually favorable for maturing the late crops and for
harvesting operations, has raised prospective yields of corn, sorghums, soybeans, cotton,
potatoes, and sweetpotatoes and caused small increases in various other crops. There was
a small net improvement in national crop prospects that makes it probable that this
year's crops will be the largest ever harvested, the total exceeding even the exceptional
output of two years ago. Estimates of corn production have been raised 61,000,000 bushels
to a total of 3,258,000,000 bushels, which would be four percent above production in any
past year. With an exceptionally large wheat crop and fairly large crops of oats and
barley already harvested, grain production is expected to total about 157.5 million tons
compared with the previous record of 155 million tons produced in 1942.
Nearly all of the soybean acreage matured without serious frost injury and the
estimate of production has been raised to 194,000,000 bushels, which would be only
2,000,000 bushels below last year's record crop. The forecast for potatoes has been raised
over seven million bushels to a total of 388,000,000 bushels and sweetpotatoes are estimated at 76,000,000, an increase of nearly 3,000,000 bushels. These increases raise potatoes
to the second largest crop since 1934 and sweetpotatoes to the largest since 1935. Harvesting reports and early sales records confirm earlier estimates of above 1.8 billion
pounds of tobacco, exceeding production in all other years except 1939. A large crop of